Roth's had a good deal on meat the other day so I stocked up. The only problem is, I'm not a HUGE meat eater, and have a hard time trying new recipes for fear of messing them up and feeling like I wasted a bunch of money. One of the things Chris and Brandon really like are BBQ chicken wings. However, since we don't own a bbq and it's not summertime, I was looking for a good baked recipe. Here's what I found:

Simple Baked Chicken Wings
8 chicken wings
1 dash onion powder
1 dash season salt
1 dash paprika
1 dash pepper
3/4 cup bbq sauce

Rub seasonings onto both sides of individual chicken wings. Place in a greased, glass casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Take out of the oven and coat both sides of wings with bbq sauce. Bake for another 7 minutes, flip wings. Bake for another 7 minutes, flip wings. Bake for another 7 minutes, flip wings. ENJOY!

Okay, I wasn't sure what "season salt" was, so I used some Mrs. Dash seasoning (original) that I like. I'm not too crazy about recipes that call for a "dash" (or rather, lack of real measurement) but I think I did okay on that as well.

Brandon wasn't super crazy about it but Chris DEVOURED them. Seriously. There were 8 wings, and he ate 5 of them. Definitely a keeper recipe!

I also am a blueberry lover. (Plus, if you read all the articles, they're like some super-human food too) I usually have a bag of frozen blueberries. Sometimes I just eat them plain, but what I LOVE are blueberry muffins. I feel guilty buying the 97 cent package at the store (so much artificial stuff in there) so I'm always looking for a really good blueberry muffin recipe. Here's what I found today:

Best Ever Blueberry Muffins
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour (I didn't have this, so I just use more plain flour. It seemed to work fine!)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 tsp lemon peel, grated (optional) - I didn't have any so I used a couple dashes of lemon juice.
1 (300 g) pkg unsweetened frozen blueberries
2 tbsp all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In large bowl, combine first 6 ingredients. In another bowl, beat egg lightly with fork, stir in milk, butter and lemon peel. Add dry ingredients, stirring just until moistened. Toss frozen blueberries with 2 tbsp flour. Fold into mixture (do not over mix). Spoon into greased large muffin tins (or papers). Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

I have to say that this recipe was pretty darn good! I was a little worried that the only sweetener was the brown sugar, but it ended up being JUST the right amount of sweet. I also liked that I had all the ingredients on hand and didn't have to do any last-minute runs to the store!

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I just got a call from the gal who watches Caleb...he finally peed in the toilet! WOO-HOO!!!

Oh happy day!

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I saw Brandon's teacher today and she had to share a story with me.

They were going over the story of when Abraham sends his servant to find a wife for his son Isaac (Genesis 24). His teacher says, "Brandon, it's like if Jeremy were to go look for a wife for you." To which Brandon replies, "But I already know who I'm going to marry."

His teacher continues, "Okay, but let's just say that Jeremy is out looking for someone for you." Brandon again replies, "But I KNOW who I'm going to marry."

He then turns to look at Shaylee and raises his eyebrows at her. She does the same back to him. Hysterical.

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I know I was sympathetic to other people's losses, but I KNOW that it wasn't until I had Brandon that I felt the pain and could really hurt for someone else. Nothing was more clear of that than when we found out about Brandon's friend Darian and the cancer that would ultimately take his life.

This weekend, I happened to meet someone who knew Darian and his family (his grandmother specifically). As it turns out, there is another young person in need of desperate prayer. His name is Michael and I vaguely remember the name when I worked at the middle school. I've added the blog to my blog list, but here is a link if you'd like to check it out. His mom started the blog right after he attempted suicide and now he has numerous struggles from the damage it did to his brain. I haven't yet read the entire thing, but her faith and perseverance just touches me. Please keep him in your prayers.

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I had a FABULOUS time this weekend with a total of 12 of us women, scrapbooking until past midnight! (Okay, I'm not that dedicated - I usually stopped by 10:30 or so, but I know some who were up until 2:00 a.m.!) I only knew two people, but I learned quickly that the rest of them were really nice women and I had a lot in common! Several of them work in the school district and we know some of the same people. A few of them have kids who attended Walker when I worked there and I think two or three are "band parents" and just finished up their season with lots of good stories!

Below are pictures of the GORGEOUS house we stayed at. You can't see it in these pictures, but we had a GREAT view of the beach. From this first picture, that side of the house looks out to the ocean. We (Tiffanni, her sister-in-law and I) set up our table right under the windows on the far right. It was perfect!


The living room was great - we moved the furniture to make way for the card tables that everyone was working on. That is the corner we were set up at.

This is just opposite our window. I was looking forward to a weekend with no sports on tv (that seems to be the only thing on lately) and ironically, both the OSU and U of O game was on while we scrapped! One of the ladies had a son who was marching in the halftime show for OSU. Another couple of ladies were HUGE U of O fans. *sigh* Even on vacation I can't get away from it! hehehe...

The basement had this bonus room - very cool! There were two more bedrooms on that level. I think the house has a total of 5 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms and can sleep 16-18.

This was the room we stayed in - on the second level (street level). It was very comfy!

Saturday night, we got egged! No kidding! Someone threw eggs on the TOP FLOOR patio door! (take a look back at the first picture and you'll see just how high they had to throw!) I'm thinking they must've been baseball players. :-) Someone went ahead and called the cops - they ended up catching them! Turns out it was a group of "juveniles" who had egged 15 houses the night before, and another 15 that night! Crazy! It gave us a good laugh, that's for sure! Because I imagine they didn't realize they were tagging a house full of scrapbooking women!

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As I hum that "classic" 80's tune in my head, I am counting down the minutes until I leave for a weekend of scrapbooking!! (okay, I realize I have just lost every male reader now...that's okay...I can handle it). I have wanted to go for the past couple of years but THIS year I finally can. I am heading to the coast with my friend Tiffanni, where we'll meet up with a few other ladies as we plant our tooshies in front of a table while our papers, pictures and various other tools are spread out in front of us. I have high hopes - but low expectations. I still have to finish my book from the summer of 2000. Yes, it's THAT bad. That's because I have YET to live in a place that has enough space for me to actually do any scrapbooking. So I'm very excited to get to work! Of course, I'm a bit overwhelmed because aside from finishing that book, I've got a million others to do as well.

I also realized that this will be the FIRST time I've ever been gone from BOTH the boys AND Chris for an entire weekend. We will be leaving after lunch and won't get back until after lunch on Sunday. Chris is going to the Duck game Saturday night, so the boys are bouncing around between Grandma & Papa's house and Nana & Bumpa's. THEY ARE EXCITED!! It's definetly the right weekend to go - it's been a crazy, stressful week. Even better, is that it'll likely be stormy at the coast. FUN!!

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Today has been an odd day, being that it's a middle-of-the-week holiday. I was able to sleep in till 7:30 (although that was after Caleb woke up at 4:30, flipped on the light to their bedroom, came out the door into the hallway and exclaimed, "there's no one out here!") and it was slow going for us this morning.

We almost (well, rather I would've) finally bought a digital camera. I think Chris is even more confused than ever. There are a couple he wants to take a look at, but they're only available online and not in the store (not sure why they don't keep it in stock). So...hopefully soon!

After Caleb went down for a nap, I surprised Brandon and we met my friend Liz and her kids at the Kroc Center to play in the pool! Of course, everyone else had the same idea so we waited an hour and a half (yes, you read correctly) before we could get in. Thankfully, the rock climbing wall and the game room was open, so the kids did that while we waited. Once there, Brandon was in heaven! I wish I had a picture to show you, but the pool had a super shallow area with a small slide, then an area that's maybe 3-4 feet deep to play around in, a hot tub (we didn't do this one as you have to be 14), a lazy river where you sit/hang onto an innertube (you don't have to) while the current takes you around, and a HUGE waterslide. Of course, Brandon really wanted to do that, but he's about 2 inches too small. Poor guy! Maybe in a few months...we made it back in time for him to grab a sandwich, grapes and some banana bread before heading off to church. Busy night! Brandon was quick to ask when we'd be going to the pool again!

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THANK YOU to all of our veterans - past and present - who risk their lives daily to make sure our freedom stays intact. There aren't enough words to put together the gratitude deserved.

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I surprised the kids when I picked them up today, with a visit to a friend's house. It wasn't until we turned on a street close to their house that Brandon asked where we were going. When I told him, he got ALL excited and proclaimed, "This is the BEST day EVER!" (this should sound familar - see three posts down...) "I love you SO MUCH mom! You are the BEST!"

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At breakfast this morning, Caleb was eating some oatmeal and Brandon had an egg and some toast. Brandon stopped half-way to use the bathroom. When he got back, Caleb had a sneaky grin on his face and said, "Brandon, my finger crashed in your jam."

hehehe!

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